Water rationing and outages are forcing merchants to spend up to $700 a day on trucked-in and bottled water just to stay open.
Water service interruptions and rationing are costing small and medium-sized businesses in Puerto Rico an estimated $18 million to $20 million a day, according to Ramón Barquín, president of the Centro Unido de Detallistas (CUD), the island’s retailers association.
“Running a business in Puerto Rico has become an obstacle course of financial hurdles. We can’t demand competitiveness from a local merchant when he’s forced to spend up to $700 a day just to guarantee running water at his business,” Barquín said Tuesday in a written statement.
According to the CUD, businesses are absorbing extra costs to haul water by tanker truck, buy bottled water, maintain cisterns, and replace equipment damaged by pressure swings or sediment in the water supply.
The organization identified Canóvanas, Río Grande, San Lorenzo, Comerío, Loíza, Cidra, San Juan, Guaynabo and Bayamón as the municipalities experiencing the most severe and intermittent service disruptions.
Laundromats, beauty salons, day care centers, elder care facilities, restaurants and food establishments are among the hardest hit, the CUD said, since they depend on a steady water supply to operate and meet sanitary requirements. Barquín said some business owners have cut employee hours or partially suspended operations, in turn reducing income for working families.
“This lack of stability in essential services is creating a domino effect that is destroying business confidence, scaring off investment and putting thousands of jobs at risk. We demand an immediate overhaul of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority’s (PRASA) contingency plans, real transparency on reservoir levels, and definitive infrastructure solutions,” Barquín added.
The CUD is asking Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department (Hacienda) and affected municipalities to grant a moratorium or flexibility on municipal license tax (patente) and sales and use tax (IVU) collections for businesses located in the hardest-hit zones. The group is also calling on the governor’s office to declare a commercial emergency that would allow assistance for affected merchants and accelerate dredging, repair and water distribution projects.
